This man took his violin and serenaded the people stuck in evacuation traffic amid the Caldor fire.
On Monday, August 30, the people of South Lake Tahoe, California, were ordered to evacuate the area as the Caldor fire drew closer.
Mountain folk are damn tough. Despite horrible gridlock in South Tahoe as people evacuate #CaldorFire, everybody keeping their cool. Have heard no honking or cursing. One driver really embraced it all blasting Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." pic.twitter.com/M8KIB0A9qi
— Karl Mondon (@karlmondon) August 30, 2021
As Unilad reports, the evacuation caused chaos on the roads. Luckily, not all drivers were in a bad mood that day. One even made an effort to turn the situation into something positive through his music.
Mel Smothers, a longtime Tahoe area resident, took it upon himself to keep the others stuck in traffic entertained by playing the violin. As the San Francisco Chronicle videos show, Mel casually leans on his yellow truck and serenades the people nearby.
The #CaldorFire roared towards South Lake Tahoe, forcing the city’s 22,000 residents to evacuate.
By the early afternoon, the few roads leading to safety were at a standstill.
🎥: @AlvinJornada
Live updates: https://t.co/IM4gpQeODM pic.twitter.com/jbI2RFuVAd— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) August 30, 2021
Some social media users compared the emotional moment to the scene in the iconic 1997 movie Titanic, where the violinists played together as the ship went down.
One of them commented:
“This hurts to see. Like the band playing as the ship goes down. But this ship is beautiful Lake Tahoe and for my entire life I can remember Tahoe being one of the most environmentally friendly places in CA and it’s going to be hit by the impacts of climate change. I’m so sad.”
Another added:
“What a treasure. But it does give me “the willies” because it reminds me of the Titanic and as Rome burns our leaders fiddle.”
New: #CaldorFire has crossed Hwy 50 near Echo summit where crews were attempting to make a stand and hold it back from making another hard run.
Fire is headed down mountainside now toward Hwy 89 and Meyers. pic.twitter.com/FHJbGykJ3L
— Scott Rodd (@SRodd_CPR) August 31, 2021